Arrangement for automatically influencing a mains supply and motor drive for said arrangement

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an arrangement for automatically influencing a mains supply. A voltage transformer is provided as a pilot transformer which detects the real value of the voltage which is to be adjusted and which transmits said value to a motor drive via an individual electric measuring circuit in which means are provided for comparing said real value to a set point value and for producing an adjustment command which is dependent upon said comparison. The invention also relates to a correspondingly equipped motor drive provided with an additional control module which directly actuates an electric motor independently from the direction of rotation when required. Said electric motor drives a step-switching mechanism on the variable-voltage transformer, whereby the voltage is adjusted, thereby influencing the mains supply.

[0001] The invention relates to an arrangement for the automatic influencing of electrical energy supply mains or distribution mains, termed mains influencing in the following, with a tapped transformer equipped with different winding taps. The invention further relates to a motor drive for automatic mains influencing with such a tapped transformer.

[0002] Regulable power transformers, which are constructed as tapped transformers and have a regulating winding with different winding taps able to be connected without interruption by a tap changer having a motor drive mechanically connected therewith, usually serve for automatic influencing of mains. A change in the translation ratio of the tapped transformer and thus a voltage regulation are achieved by selectable switching-on of different winding taps of the regulating winding.

[0003] A known arrangement for mains influencing by voltage regulation usually consists of several components. At the outset, there is provided a measurement transducer, preferably an inductive measurement transformer, at the tapped transformer, by which the respective voltage to be regulated is detected as an actual value. In addition, a voltage regulator is provided, which is arranged remotely from the tapped transformer in a control room or the like. There is communicated to this voltage regulator by way of electrical signal lines from the measurement transducer the electrical output signal thereof as information with respect to the measured voltage as an actual value. This actual value of the voltage is then compared in the voltage regulator with a previously set target value of the voltage, which is to be kept just as constant as possible by means of the tap transformer, and if required a switching command ‘higher’ or ‘lower’ is generated with consideration of further previously set regulating parameters, such as, for example, the delay time. This switching command is in turn communicated by way of electrical connecting lines to the motor drive of the tapped transformer. The motor drive produces a rotational movement of its drive shaft depending on the direction ‘higher’ or ‘lower’ of the communicated switching command; this rotational movement is transmitted by way of the drive linkage to the tap changer, which then undertakes in dependence on rotational direction a switching over from the currently connected winding tap to the next higher or next lower winding tap. The tap changer itself is usually sunk into the tank of the tapped transformer or also fastened to the outer side thereof, just like the associated motor drive.

[0004] Specific data, such as, for example, the actual setting of the tap changer, are communicated back to the voltage regulator by way of further electrical connecting lines. Such a known arrangement for voltage regulation is known from DE-OS 24 10 641. It is disadvantageous with this arrangement that the motor drive has a plurality of electrical outputs which all have to be connected with the corresponding voltage regulator by means of separate electrical lines. These line connections result from the fact that numerous items of information, for example with respect to the actual setting of the tap changer, rotation and rotational direction of the drive shaft, etc., are produced in the motor drive by electrical or electromechanical means, but are processed only in the voltage regulator, which is often physically far removed. Further lines are required in order, as explained, to conduct the setting commands, which are delivered by the voltage regulator, to the motor drive. Finally, measurement transducer and voltage regulator also have to be connected together by electrical lines.

[0005] A so-termed autotransformer is known from GB-PS 21 09 960, in which the voltage regulator is arranged directly at the transformer, but here too, the disadvantage still remains of a plurality of electrical connecting lines between voltage regulator and motor drive.

[0006] Finally, a corresponding arrangement is known from DE 42 14 431 A1 in which the voltage regulator and motor drive are interconnected, instead of by numerous individual lines, only by way of a single serial bidirectional data line. However, such a data line, which is preferably executed as an optical conductor, also represents a substantial disadvantage between two subassemblies physically separated from one another, especially since further connections between the measurement transducer and the voltage regulator are also obligatory here, even if this is not specifically mentioned in the stated prior publication.

[0007] It is the object of the invention to indicate an arrangement for automatic mains influencing which avoids the disadvantages of the state of the art, namely an extensive electrical or other wiring between separately arranged subassemblies. In addition, the object of the invention is to indicate a motor drive suitable for such an arrangement.

[0008] According to the invention the tasks are fulfilled by an arrangement with the features of the first patent claim as well as a motor drive with the features of the parallel third patent claim.

[0009] Of particular advantage with the arrangement according to the invention is the compact construction thereof. According to the invention the arrangement consists of a device for producing a voltage actual value, preferably a voltage transducer and here again particularly advantageously a non-conventional voltage transducer, directly at the transformer, and an electronic motor drive, which additionally also comprises the electrical and electronic means for voltage regulation for the mains influencing and which is similarly directly arranged at the transformer and in turn directly mechanically connected by means of the usual drive shaft with the tap changer in or at the transformer. All subassemblies are thus arranged directly at the transformer; wiring to and from a physically distant control room, at which a separate voltage regulator is arranged according to the state of the art as independent apparatus or 19 inch plug-in module, is thus redundant. There is merely then still required a single electrical connection from the device at the transformer, for example the non-conventional voltage transducer which supplies the measurement signal as voltage actual value, to the electronic motor drive. The electrical connections, which act bidirectionally, between motor drive and physically separate voltage regulator according to the state of the art are completely redundant, since, as explained, in accordance with the invention the electronic motor drive entirely takes over the function of the former voltage regulator and this is thus not required as a separate subassembly.

[0010] The inventions will be explained in still more detail in the following by way of example by reference to drawings, in which:

[0011]FIG. 1 shows an arrangement according to the state of the art,

[0012]FIG. 2 shows an arrangement according to the invention for voltage regulation for mains influencing,

[0013]FIG. 3 shows a first motor drive according to the invention,

[0014]FIG. 4 shows a regulating circuit of a voltage regulation in an arrangement with the motor drive illustrated in FIG. 3,

[0015]FIG. 5 shows a second motor drive according to the invention with further means for mains influencing,

[0016]FIG. 6 shows a third motor drive according to the invention with additional means for mains influencing and

[0017]FIG. 7 shows a regulating circuit of a voltage regulation in an arrangement with the motor drive illustrated in FIG. 6.

[0018] Initially the previous state of the art shall be briefly explained again by reference to FIG. 1. There is illustrated a transformer 1 at which a conventional voltage transducer 2 is arranged, which converts the actual voltage—as a example, 30 kV—into a measurement signal of, here, 100 V. This voltage transducer 2 is disposed in electrical connection by way of a measurement line 3 with a voltage regulator 4, which is located in a control room. Control lines 5 lead from this voltage regulator 4 to the motor drive 6. The motor drive 6 in turn is connected in known manner by way of a drive shaft 7 with a tap changer 8. The tap changer 8 shown here has a selector 8 for power-free preselection of the winding taps of the regulating winding and beyond that comprises a load changeover switch 10 for the actual interrupted switching over; other forms of construction of tap changers are equally well conceivable. By way of the control lines 5 the setting commands generated in the voltage regulator 4 as a result of the comparison of the actual voltage and the target voltage are on the one hand communicated to the motor drive 6, and on the other hand the voltage regulator 4 receives in turn data from the motor drive 6, for example with respect to the actual setting of the tap changer and the switching sequences respectively elapsing in the case of the individual switchings-over.

[0019]FIG. 2 shows an arrangement according to the invention. In that case a non-conventional voltage transducer 11 is arranged at the transformer 1 and converts the actual voltage—here, again, as an example 30 kV—into a measurement signal, in this case 1.87 V. A measurement line 12, which in correspondence with the substantially smaller measurement signal can also be dimensioned to be smaller, leads to the electronic motor drive 13. The electronic motor drive 13 is additionally equipped with means for comparison of target value and actual value and for performance of regulator functions and generation of control signals. The drive shaft 7 again leads directly from the motor drive 13 to the tap changer 8 and actuates this. It can thus be seen that the electronic motor drive 13 combines the functions of the subassemblies of voltage regulator 4 and motor drive 6 separately illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0020] The non-conventional voltage transducer 11 for producing the actual value of the voltage was mentioned in a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention. Such non-conventional transducers have been increasingly developed in the last years and are known to the expert in numerous forms. An early comprehensive illustration of non-conventional transducers or measurement converters can already be found in the thesis “Ein Beitrag zur Beurteilung der Möglichkeiten des Einsatzes nichtkonventioneller Messwandler und der Grenzen für eine Verdrängung klassischer Messtransformatoren” of Dr. Ermisch, Dresden, 1984. General requirements of electronic voltage transducers of non-conventional kind are evident from IEC 38 (Sec) 122: 1993 or VDE 0414. Such non-conventional transducers are typically available in the most diverse forms; reference may be made here to, for example, optical transducers, i.e. fibre-optical or also bulk-optical transducers, which for their part operate in accordance with polarimetric (Faraday effect) or also interferometric principles. In addition, passive non-conventional voltage transducers are known from the company publications “Low Power Voltage Transducer for Medium Voltage GIS Systems Type LPVTG” and “ . . . Type LoPoVT” of the company Trench, Switzerland. The Type LPVTG is a resistive voltage divider which replaces classic, i.e. conventional inductive or capacitive, measurement transducers.

[0021] An overview with respect to resistive voltage dividers by comparison with conventional voltage transducers is given by the periodical etz, Vol. 15-16/1997, page 20 et seq.

[0022] The non-conventional voltage transducer 11 produces a measurement signal in the voltage region, which is transmitted approximately without loss of power and supplied to the electronic motor drive 13; this signal can be further processed directly there. For that purpose the electronic motor drive 13 has means for analog-to-digital conversion of the voltage transducer signal and in addition it has at least one resolver for setting detection of the drive shaft 7 as well as an electronic control. The electronic control takes over the functions of the earlier separate voltage regulator; it carries out a comparison of target value and actual value and produces, with consideration of previously established regulating parameters, such as, for example switching delay, regulating threshold and others, in a given case a control signal which serves directly for actuation of the drive shaft 7 and thus of the tap changer 8 by means of an electric motor.

[0023] A first embodiment of an electronic motor drive according to the invention will be explained in detail in the following by reference to FIG. 3. The motor drive comprises, in per se known manner, a transmission 14 for actuation of the drive shaft 7 of the tap changer. The transmission 14 in that case reduces the rotational movement produced by an electric motor 16, as a rule a three-phase synchronous motor. A setting reporting device 15 for detecting the position of the selector of the tap changer is connected with the transmission 14. The central part of the motor drive according to the invention is an electronic control subassembly 17 which has means for comparing the measurement signal, which comes from the voltage transducer, with a predetermined target value and of triggering, in the case of a deviation exceeding a presettable threshold, a control command and controlling the electric motor 16 in dependence on rotational direction in order to thereby actuate in direct succession the tap changer by way of the drive shaft 7 thereof. The electronic control subassembly 17 is in turn connected by way of an interface subassembly 18 with the single measurement line 12 which was already explicitly described further above and which communicates data from the non-conventional voltage transducer.

[0024] The control subassembly 17 substantially consists of a memory-programmable control, a microcontroller or also an industrial computer. Which of these possibilities is selected depends on a number of factors, such as space requirement, costs, operating speed; an appropriate selection is familiar to the expert.

[0025] The interface subassembly 18 comprises an analog-to-digital converter and further means for generating a measurement signal, which is compatible with the control subassembly, from the measurement signal-transmitted in the measurement line 12. It thus represents a digital interface for the downstream control subassembly 17 and can be executed as, for example, a field bus or as a known RS 485 interface.

[0026] A corresponding regulating circuit with such a motor drive is separately illustrated again in FIG. 4. From the non-conventional voltage transducer 11 the measurement signal is transmitted, as a measure for the actual value at the transformer 1, by way of the measurement line 12 to the interface subassembly 18 of the motor drive 13, which is indicated as a dashed line. The control subassembly 17, in which a target value and actual value comparison is carried out, i.e. a comparison of the actual value communicated by the non-conventional voltage transducer 11 with the previously stored target value, is arranged downstream of the interface subassembly 18. If this comparison yields a deviation having a value which exceeds a previously settable regulating threshold, then a control command is produced, whereby the electric motor 16 is actuated, which in turn in the sequence actuates the drive shaft 7. Thus the load changeover switch 10 of the tap changer is actuated and the secondary voltage of the transformer 1 changes. The regulating circuit is closed by a new measurement by way of the non-conventional voltage transducer 11 and feedback to the subassembly 17.

[0027] It is also possible within the scope of the invention to provide, instead of the non-conventional voltage transducer 11, another measurement transducer or also to extract data with respect to the actual value of the voltage at a bus system.

[0028] A second embodiment of a motor drive according to the invention is illustrated in FIG. 5. In that case an analysis of the voltage quality of the corresponding voltage, which is to be regulated, is provided as an additional possibility of mains influencing. The output voltage of the non-conventional voltage transducer 11 is then additionally fed by way of a further measurement line 21 to a reactive power compensator 20. It is obviously also possible to tap off the measurement signal from the measurement line 12 which is present in any case. Such a reactive power compensator 20 is available as, for example, the apparatus ‘POCOS Control”, which is made by the applicant, in commercial form. The output thereof leads by way of a further interface subassembly 19 back to the electronic control subassembly 17. However, it is also possible to construct the reactive power compensator 20 itself as an integral component of the control subassembly 17. In conjunction with a direct voltage regulation, an impermissible voltage excess due to a possible overcompensation of the voltage mains to be regulated can thus, in addition, be directly counteracted. Such a voltage excess, which is known from the literature as Ferranti effect, results at the end of, for example, an idling operating line from the complex ratio of the voltages at the beginning and end of these lines, wherein this relationship here represents a real magnitude. Input voltage and output voltage in this case are characterised by the same phase position, so that the capacitive charging current of the line inductance produces a voltage amount which adds to the input voltage in such a manner that the output voltage is thus greater than the input voltage of this line. On the basis of different preset target values, such as, for example, the displacement factor cos φ or the permissible harmonic content of the measured voltage, the switching-on or switching-off of the capacitor 22/1 or absorption circuit 22 is effected by way of the reactive power compensator 20. A voltage regulation and thus mains influencing is similarly possible by such a compensation installation, i.e. capacitor installation, switchable in stages. In that case the capacitive reactive current of the compensation installation causes a voltage rise at the predominantly inductive impedance of the feed path of the mains when the provided capacitive reactive power is not exclusively required for compensation for inductive reactive power of consumers in the mains. This regulating method is particularly feasible when the long voltage decay caused by a strongly variable inductive reactive power requirement is to be kept substantially constant. Such a specially constructed compensation system is described in WO 94/24622.

[0029] It is also possible to use not only tap changers, but also reactive power compensation systems in parallel for the mains influencing. Both categories of apparatus can in that case be simultaneously activated by the previously described motor drive according to the invention for automatic mains influencing. The usually employed reactive power regulators in that case serve for coarse regulation; they have regulating time constants of 10 to 30 minutes, so that they do not collide with the regulating algorithms of the faster operating tap changer.

[0030] The electronic control subassembly 17 can in addition also have further subassemblies for realisation of monitoring functions or, for example, for the control of fans at the transformer 1.

[0031] A particularly advantageous further embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. In that case the control subassembly 17 comprises, in addition to the already described interface subassembly 18, a further interface subassembly 18/1 which is disposed in connection with a further measuring arrangement 23 operating at high speed. Such a fast measuring arrangement 23 is produced, similarly by the applicant, under the designation ‘Voltage Dip Meter’. The subassembly 17 is thus placed in the position of also recognising and processing transitly occurring voltage incursions of short duration in order to optionally influence the level, which is delivered by the transformer, of the regulated voltage. Such a fast voltage regulation for rapid mains influencing can take place, for example, with fast regulating power-electronic mains elements, so-termed FACTS elements, which are known per se. FACTS enable selective influencing of non-reactive and reactive power influences and rapid activation of non-reactive and reactive power influencing with high regulating dynamics. Fast all-thyristor tap changers for rapid regulating out voltage incursions are equally suitable. Such tap changers are known from, for example, WO 95/27931 or WO 97/05536. The control of the described fast regulating components is possible in simple manner by means of the arrangement according to the invention for mains influencing.

[0032] According to a further embodiment of the invention it is also possible that the electronic control subassembly 17 also serves for actuation of an earth leakage coil. This principle of earth leakage quenching or regulation by means of an earth leakage coil is known to the expert. It is based on the fact that compensation can be provided at a fault location for the capacitive component of the fault current by the inductive current of the earth leakage coil. In that case with ideal compensation only a very small resistive residual current flows. Distinction is to be made between two methods for the regulation: on the one hand, regulation with negligible mains reaction in the case of greater displacement voltages and on the other hand regulation in the case of not inappreciable mains reaction, i.e. changes in the mains which have an effect on the displacement voltage. The regulation itself takes place in a manner, which is known per se, by adjustment of the inductance of the earth leakage coil. 

1. Arrangement for automatic mains influencing with a tapped transformer, the regulating winding of which is provided with different winding taps which are connectible without interruption by a tap changer having a motor drive mechanically coupled therewith, wherein a measurement transducer for detection of the actual value of the respective voltage to be regulated is arranged at the tapped transformer, wherein means are provided for comparison of the actual value measured in such a manner with a previously established target value and for generating, in dependence on the comparison, a setting command for actuation of the motor drive and thus of the tap changer in dependence on rotational direction, characterised in that the motor drive (13) also comprises means for comparison of the measured actual value with the previously established target value and for generation of the setting command dependent on the comparison and that a single electrical measurement line (12) leads directly from the measurement transducer to the motor drive (13).
 2. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterised in that the measurement transducer is a non-conventional voltage transducer (11).
 3. Motor drive for automatic mains influencing, wherein an electric motor is provided in a common housing and actuates by way of an interposed transmission, a drive shaft which in turn drives a tap changer for uninterrupted switching over between different winding taps of a tapped transformer, characterised in that a control subassembly (17) is provided in the common housing and is disposed in connection by way of an interface subassembly (18) with a measurement line (12) of a measurement transducer disposed outside the housing, and that the control subassembly (17) comprises means in order to compare a measurement signal, which is generated by the measurement transducer and arrives by way of the measurement line (12), with a previously stored target value and to generate a regulating signal in dependence on the comparison and that the electric motor (16) is directly actuable by the control subassembly (17) in dependence on rotational direction.
 4. Motor drive according to claim 3, characterised in that the measurement transducer is a non-conventional voltage transducer (11).
 5. Motor drive according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that a reactive power compensator (20) is additionally disposed in the common housing, the input of the reactive power compensator (20) being similarly disposed in connection with the measurement transducer disposed outside the housing and the output of the reactive power compensator (20) being similarly disposed in connection with the control subassembly (17) by way of a further interface subassembly (19).
 6. Motor drive according to claim 3, 4 or 5, characterised in that a fast measuring arrangement (23) for detection of transient voltage incursions is provided, the output of the measuring arrangement in turn being disposed in connection with the control subassembly (17) by way of a further interface subassembly (18/1).
 7. Motor drive according to claim 3, 4, 5 or 6, characterised in that additional means for rapid mains influencing, in particular FACTS elements or rapid semiconductor tap changers, are actuable by the control subassembly (17).
 8. Motor drive according to claim 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, characterised in that additional means for actuation of an earth leakage coil are provided. 